{"id":2587,"date":"2026-09-20T15:28:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T14:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ambius.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2587"},"modified":"2026-10-18T15:42:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T14:42:00","slug":"how-to-avoid-a-gnat-swarm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ambius.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-avoid-a-gnat-swarm\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Avoid a \u2018Gnat\u2019 Swarm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As warm weather starts to fade and we move into autumn, you may have noticed an increase in small grey or brown insects flying around the office. These are likely to be sciarid flies, also known as the fungus gnat, which are most active in the months of September, October and March. Often associated with indoor plants, these very common (and annoying) little insects can be found in many UK households and workplaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fungus gnats are a people pest, not a plant pest and they normally indicate a plant in distress, rather than causing physical damage to the plant itself. Whilst adult flies can be a nuisance, it is worth remembering that they are not dangerous or harmful to people. Fungus gnats tend to cause more complaints than many other pests but with the right information, they can be easy to manage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fungus gnats look quite similar to fruit flies or shore flies, although they are more slender in appearance. They are grey or brown coloured insects, around 3-5mm long with long antennae, distinct dangly legs and large compound eyes. Their wings have an evident \u201cY\u201d shaped vein. The adult flies don\u2019t feed on living plant tissue, although their larvae will feed on algae and decaying plant matter in the soil, and in some conditions, the root hairs of young plants. Despite this, damage to plants is rare and tends to only occur when the flies are present in large numbers, and the plants are already under stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fungus gnats are attracted to carbon dioxide, which is why adult flies become a nuisance to humans as they are drawn to the carbon dioxide in our breath. They also have a habit of not settling, so they continue to fly around people\u2019s heads in an erratic matter, even if waved away. Fungus gnats pose no danger to humans \u2013 they are unable to bite or penetrate human skin as their mouthparts are only capable of taking in moisture from the soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Swarm<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To manage fungus gnats, you should consider the following mnemonic: GROW<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n